Degrees of Freedom
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February 2015 D of F EXPANDING COLLEGE OPPORTUNITIES for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Californians Stanford Criminal Justice Center Chief Justice Earl Warren Stanford Law School Institute on Law and Social Policy UC Berkeley School of Law DEGREES OF FREEDOM: Expanding College Opportunities for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Californians February 2015 A report of the Renewing Communities Initiative Acknowledgements This report was co-written by Debbie Mukamal, Rebecca Silbert, and Rebecca M. Taylor. This report is part of a larger initiative – Renewing Communities – to expand college opportunities for currently and formerly incarcerated students in California. Nicole Lindahl was a contributing author; Nicole Lindahl and Laura Van Tassel also provided research assistance for this report. The research and publication of this report has been supported by the Ford Foundation. The authors thank Douglas Wood of the Ford Foundation for his vision and leadership which catapulted this report. The authors are grateful to the many people who provided information, experience, and guidance in the development of this report. These individuals are listed in Appendix A. Any errors or misstatements in this report are the responsibility of the authors; the recommendations made herein may, or may not, be supported by the individuals listed in Appendix A. Founded in 2005, the Stanford Criminal Justice Center serves as a research and policy institute on issues related to the criminal justice system. Its efforts are geared towards both generating policy research for the public sector, as well as providing pedagogical opportunities to Stanford Law School students with academic or career interests in criminal law and crime policy. The Stanford Criminal Justice Center is led by Faculty Co-Directors Professors Joan Petersilia and Robert Weisberg and Executive Director Debbie Mukamal. The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at UC Berkeley School of Law is a multidisciplinary, collaborative venture to produce research, research-based policy prescriptions, and curricular innovation on challenging civil rights, education, criminal justice, and immigration issues. The Warren Institute is led by Faculty Director and Honorable William H. Orrick, Jr. Distinguished Professor Christopher Edley, Jr. and Executive Director Rebecca Silbert. ©2015 Table of Contents Introduction . 1 Part I: Background for a Common Language 3 Higher Education in California . 3 Primer on California Community Colleges . 8 Criminal Justice in California . 14 Part II: Statement of Need 18 Part III: Current Landscape 24 Campus and Community Programs . 26 Jail Programs . 34 Prison Programs . .40 Part IV: Realizing the Vision 57 Recommendation One: Build High-Quality Academic Programming both Inside and Outside Custody . .58 Recommendation Two: Enable Success by Prioritizing Academic and Non-Academic Support Services . 61 Recommendation Three: Recruit and Invest in Qualified and Committed Staff . 63 Recommendation Four: Foster Sustainability through Funding, Evaluation, Quality Control, and Institutional Support . .64 Recommendation Five: Build Local and Statewide Networks . .66 Recommendation Six: Shape the Policy Landscape to Support High-Quality College Pathways . 70 Appendices A: List of Contacts . 81 B: Referenced Programs . 89 C: College Admissions and Financial Aid Overview for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Students . .104 D: County-Level Data on 1170(h) Population . 108 E: Overview of Public Safety Realignment . .109 F: Labor Market Considerations . 110 G: Sample MOU . 112 Glossary . 117 Notes . 120 Bibliography . 130 List of Figures Part I Figure 1 . College Pathways in California . 3 Figure 2 . Mission and Accessibility of California’s Public Higher Education Systems . 4 Figure 3 . Characteristics of Students at California’s Public Colleges and Universities . 5 Figure 4 . California Community Colleges and Public Universities . 7 Figure 5 . California Undergraduate Enrollment in 2012-2013 . 8 Figure 6 . Criminal Justice Pathways in California . 13 Part II Figure 7 . Unemployment and Median Income by Educational Level for Californians in 2013 . 19 Figure 8 . Benefits of College Programs for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People . 21 Figure 9 . General Fund Spending per Individual, 1996-2012 . 22 Part III Figure 10 . Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Student Pathways . 24 Figure 11 . Public Colleges and Universities and Probation Populations by County . 25 Figure 12 . California Public Colleges and Universities and Local Jails . 33 Figure 13 . California Public Colleges and Universities and State Prisons . 39 Figure 14 . Historical CDCR Population and Students Participating in College, 1976-2013 . 41 Figure 15 . Size of Current College Programs in California State Prisons by Type, 2014 . 44 Figure 16 . History of College Opportunities in California Prisons and Jails . 53 Part IV Figure 17 . Linkages between Key Partners . .. 66 Figure 18 . Partner Roles and Commitments . 67 Introduction The Renewing Communities Initiative envisions high-quality college programs in prisons, jails, and communities across California, building a network of pathways to success for currently and formerly incarcerated students. College has the power to change lives. A college education creates job opportunities; it fosters leadership and improves the social and economic well-being of students, families, and communities. California has long recognized these benefits, and we enjoy a robust public higher education system unparalleled by any in the nation. More significantly, California is a national leader with a long-standing commitment to making college accessible and affordable for all its residents. In order to fully realize this commitment, we cannot overlook Californians who are involved in the criminal justice system. College can break the cycle of recidivism and transform formerly incarcerated individuals into community leaders and role models; it can alleviate economic barriers faced by the formerly incarcerated and enable families to enjoy the fruits of economic mobility. We must recognize that these students’ success is part of California’s success by including them in our existing education structures, and by ensuring that they persist to graduation. Improving access for all will require leadership and strategic intervention. Our colleges and criminal justice agencies must break out of their silos and share a commitment to high-quality education for all students whether they are learning in prison, jail, or the community. Our policymakers must enable partnership and collaboration between the education and criminal justice fields. Realizing this vision may not be easy, but doing so will improve the lives of thousands of potential college students, for the benefit of our communities now and in future generations.1 California has a history as a leader in prioritizing college access for all, including criminal justice-involved students. In the late 1970s, every state prison facility offered in-person college courses, and programs to support students with criminal histories existed at 15 community colleges across the state and on nearly half of California State University campuses. Today, we have the infrastructure and experience to successfully support non-traditional students working to achieve their educational goals, but we have only one in-person college program in our 35 prisons and only a handful of small campus programs to assist formerly incarcerated students. We can be a national leader again. This vision will not be realized without overcoming challenges. California is a remarkably decentralized state, both in education and in criminal justice. Programs that work in one region may be practically or politically unpalatable in another. Budgeting priorities in one county may differ greatly from the adjacent county, and each county has its own way of delegating decision- making power between education institutions and criminal justice agencies. For these reasons, a 1 DEGREES OF FREEDOM · INTRODUCTION college education may remain elusive for criminal justice-involved individuals as well as others. To do nothing, however, abandons thousands of potential students who are eager for better opportunities. We have the tools to help, and we should. The descriptions and recommendations in this report are based on research conducted in 2014 by the Stanford Criminal Justice Center at Stanford Law School and the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This initiative included a May 2014 convening of over 150 leaders and stakeholders in education and criminal justice from across California and the United States, as well as reviews of academic research, government reports, legal archives, publicly available databases, and surveys. We interviewed over 175 educators, educational administrators, criminal justice stakeholders, and formerly incarcerated students throughout California and the nation, including in-depth, semi-structured interviews with representatives of college programs for criminal justice-involved students across the country. Some of their direct words are highlighted throughout the report. (See Appendix A for a complete list of contacts and Appendix B for program descriptions.) Drawing on these sources, this report begins with a background on the higher education and criminal justice systems in California. This background section highlights the vocabulary and common